Atmosphere
by pixie blue
Summary: The life of a hero can be very stressful, which Megamind only fully grasps after he's taken the job. What at first seems to be a lack of sleep due to said stress, later develops into severe illness that puts the blue hero out of action. Megamind/Roxanne.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Well, this is my first Megamind fanfic, though I do have a few oneshots and a couple drabbles that I'm planning on writing.

For fans of my Ranger's Apprentice works, sorry that this isn't an update for any of my Ranger's fics, but I kinda have writer's block for all those stories.

For those who have no idea what I'm going on about, and are here for Megamind fanfiction, I also apologise.

Anyway, I saw the movie two days ago, and absolutely loved it. One of the best things is the myriad paths open to writers like myself, evident in the fact that it's already amassed almost 200 stories on this site even though it was released so recently. So here is my (however small) contribution to the Megamind category.

Oh, and one more thing (sorry, again). I actually wrote this chapter in the 'Notes' app on my IPod, and that was certainly cumbersome enough in itself. What was worse, though, was that when I had almost finished typing, I accidentally selected all text and pasted what was on my clipboard (lyrics for a song, I think), replacing all my work. And Apple, in their infinite wisdom, decided not to equip iPods with an undo. So I had to rewrite the entire chapter, which was fun. I think I actually like this version more, though.

Ahem. Anyway, for those considerate enough to read my ramblings (I really didn't intend for the author's note to be this long), please, read on to the story!

.:':. .:':. .:':.

"You have reached the residency of Megamind, this is Minion speaking. How may I help you?" The cheery voice of the alien-fish-gorilla-cyborg enquired into the mobile phone. Since Megamind had become the city's new hero, Minion had adopted a more secretary-like role. "Uh huh… Uh huh." He nodded each time, despite the fact that the person on the other end of the call would have no idea that he was doing so. "You'd like him to cut the ribbon at the grand opening of the new mall…?" His voice still joyful as ever, he glanced over at the said hero, sleeping in a light doze in his black leather swivel chair. Feeling Minion's gaze resting on him, Megamind opened a pair of tired green eyes. It took a few seconds for the words to sink into his slowly waking brain, but when they did, he made frantic negative motions. Minion smiled and gave him a thumbs-up. "He'd love to. He seems very excited about it." Megamind slapped himself on the forehead, groaning, then scrambled towards Minion, reaching for the phone before he could do any more damage. "Oh, he wants to talk to you."

"Ollo?" Minion opened him mouth to say something, but Megamind was already correcting himself. "Um, hello? Yes, well, you see, there's…" A loud, ear-piercing shriek emanated from the mobile phone, causing the blue-skinned alien to nearly drop it in fright. As it was, he managed to keep it in his grip and held it tentatively about an arm's length away to protect his hearing. Once the noise subsided he gingerly brought the phone back to his ear, now quite concerned about what had happened to the (presumably) young woman on the other end of the call to make her scream like that. "Ollo?" he asked apprehensively, his worry causing him to revert to his old pronunciation again. "Are you alright?"

"OhmygodohmygodOHMYGOD!" The startled blue hero held the phone away from his ear again as the voice reached an increasingly higher pitch than before (if that was in fact even possible). Eventually, she calmed down, and he cautiously inched the mobile back to its intended position. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" the voice babbled. "I just can't believe it's you!"

"Well, you did ring my foone number," he replied reasonably, stumbling a bit on the still relatively new word.

"I believe the word is _phone_, sir," Minion interjected helpfully. Megamind just gave him a withering glare. After all, it _was_ his fault he was on this portable phone contraption in the first place.

"It's _so_ great that you said yes. I can't wait to tell my boss, he'll be thrilled. Oh, and I'll have to tell Odette, she'll be so jealous. And I'll tell…" She kept on listing all the people she would talk to about it. He tried to explain that he was still very new to being a hero, and thus had a very large and stressful workload already, but she just talked straight over the top of him. Sighing with defeat, he slumped back into his swivel chair, reaching for a pen and some paper. "…And my mum, of course, she'll be so proud I was the one to get this through…"

"Time, date and address, please?" he asked wearily, finally managing to cut her off. She rattled off the details, thanking him profusely. Squeezing in a goodbye when she paused to take a breath, he hung up, slamming the phone onto the table, groaning and thunking his head down next to it.

"Minion, why did you tell her I wanted to attend that ribbon-cutting ceremony?" His voice was slightly muffled due to the fact he had half his face mashed into his desk.

"Sorry sir. I thought you were saying yes with those actions." He rubbed the back of his tank sheepishly with one of his gorilla-cyborg hands, much as a human would scratch the back of their neck in embarrassment.

Megamind sighed. "It's alright Minion." He lifted his head, dropping it heavily into his hands, elbows propped up on the desk. "Come to think of it, though, I don't really get the whole ribbon-cutting procedure in the first place. What difference does cutting a ribbon make on whether a new building is open or not? It's not like it's impossible for people to go inside with the ribbon there. They could just duck under or jump over it." One hand started randomly gesturing as his monologue got more heated. His head tilted slightly to the side to better balance in his other hand. "And why is it still called ribbon-cutting in this city, anyway? They've had years of Metro Man just blasting through the ribbons with his laser beams, and I do much the same with my ray guns. Why don't they just call it a ribbon-blasting ceremony? That sounds much more exciting anyway."

"It certainly does, sir, but perhaps they feel that 'blasting' and 'ceremony' don't go all that well in the same sentence," Minion offered.

"That's true enough." He froze as another thought came to him. "Minion, how would that woman have gotten my number?"

"From the phone directory, of course." He said it like it was obvious.

"_Why_ is it in the phone directory?"

One of his cyborg gorilla hands twitched towards the back of his tank again and he smiled nervously. "Um, I thought it might be handy, in case Miss Ritchie forgot it or something?"

"Minion!" he moaned. "What with all those sav- I mean fans, the calls would start flooding in! Please don't tell me you put it in as a picture ad?"

"No sir, just a number and a name," he replied, happy he had at least hadn't done that wrong.

"Good. All the same, could you get it taken out?"

He hesitated a moment. "I'll do my best, sir." He didn't want to mention the fact that it would take a while for a new, corrected phonebook to come out. Then he had a better idea. "Sir? Wouldn't it be easier to just get your number changed?"

"Yes, yes, do that." Megamind yawned standing. He almost immediately collapsed. Minion rushed forward to catch him, and with concern noticed faint dark rings underneath his eyes. He'd only ever seen rings under his eyes like that a few times before, and it had only been after working on something for several days without rest. It was different than with humans; whatever race Megamind was, they could survive easily on very little sleep. However, if he went too long without enough sleep, he would crash severely. Once, he'd slept for almost a week, and Minion had to spoon-feed him lukewarm soup the entire time.

"Sir!" he asked anxiously. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine," he muttered, shakily trying to stand.

"Sir," he adopted a parental tone, "when was the last time you slept? Properly?"

Megamind shrugged, which only served to make him dizzy again, weakening his legs.

"_Sir_!" Minion exclaimed, scandalised. "You're going to go to bed, right now." So saying, he scooped the tired blue alien into his arms and carried him to the opposite side of the Lair, where the newly-installed bedroom was.

When Roxanne had found out that Megamind almost always slept in his swivel chair, she went into a rage, berating him on how bad it was for his posture. He quickly agreed to have a bedroom built into the lab, if only to stop her rants, but he had to admit sleeping on a bed was far more comfortable than his chair. Minion opened the door and gently placed his boss down on the cerulean sheets covering the black metal four-poster bed. He sighed, settling into the bed and closing his eyes.

"Uh, sir?" Megamind cracked open one eye. "Aren't you going to get changed into your pyjamas?"

"Oh yes, of course." Minion nodded, but stayed where he was. After a pause, he added, "Which would be a little awkward with you watching me." The alien fish nodded inside his tank – seeing as it was impossible to nod the tank itself – and ambled out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Megamind deftly changed into his blue 'evil' pyjamas – he would've thrown them out, but they were just so _comfortable_ – and crawled under the doona, falling into a deep sleep almost instantly.

.:':. .:':. .:':.

A/N: Well, here's chapter one, hope you enjoyed! Sorry it's short, I just wanted to get this chapter up today and figured this was as good a place as any to stop. I'll try to get the next chapter ready for tomorrow or the day after, but with my talent for procrastination I can't promise anything. :P

Anyway, please tell me what you thought. I'm most worried that I didn't keep them in character enough, because I've only seen the movie once (can't wait until it comes out on DVD on 22nd February!), so let me know if you think that's the case, and if it's not too much to ask, a few pointers as to how I could improve. :) Thank you in advance to all those that review!

-pixie.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: *drowns under email notifications from the first chapter* Whoa! I was NOT expecting such a large response. Thank you for all the positive feedback, it's good to know I didn't have them wildly out of character. :P

Anyways, I didn't actually sleep at all last night! Yay! But I did finally get to sleep at around 7 in the morning, then woke at about 3 in the afternoon. So, basically, my body clock's alarm is going off and the snooze button is broken. But, after such a great response from you guys, how could I not update as quickly as possible? :) Though it certainly was a challenge – I've been typing this on my dad's work laptop, seeing as my craptop is still with the computer guy at school, so I haven't been able to do any major work on this until he gets home, then when he _did_ get home, he threw me into the dreaded clutches of physical exercise before allowing me on his laptop. Then, I only had enough time to type this author's note before telling me to get on my bike to go to the shops because he'd forgot we didn't have some stuff we needed for dinner. Then I had to do the dishes before I was let on again. So, here we are (finally). Enjoy!

.:':. .:':. .:':.

Slowly returning to the world of consciousness, Megamind groaned, snuggling deeper into the covers. If possible, he felt more tired than the night before. Cracking open an eyelid and glancing at his alarum-clock, he realised why. The display read 1:36. He'd only been asleep for a few hours!

He grumbled to himself, pulling the covers back over his head, just when Minion backed through the door, carrying a tray with a bowl of soup perched on top. "G'morning, Minion," he mumbled sleepily. "Why're you in here so early?"

"Oh, sir, you're awake, finally." The fish grinned in relief.

"_Finally_? What are you talking about?" Confused, he pushed himself into a sitting position. He glanced at the clock, and this time saw that the indicator light was glowing next to the words 'pm'. "What…?" He shook his head dazedly, trying to clear it. "It's lunchtime," he told Minion, clearly shocked.

"Of course, sir. That's what the soup's for." He placed said soup on the small black beside table.

Megamind looked slightly bemused. "I can't believe I slept for more than half a day."

The fish shifted uncomfortably in his tank. "Actually, sir, it's more like a day and a half. You slept through all of yesterday."

"Oh. I haven't done that in a while. Why am I still so tired, though? Usually, I feel very refreshed after a long sleep."

With growing concern, Minion noted that the bags under his eyes had grown darker. "Um, Miss Ritchie called in to check on you earlier. Several times, actually. I explained to her why you were sleeping for so long, but she was still worried. She even stayed over last night – she slept on the couch. Should I tell her you're up?"

Smothering a yawn, he waved Minion off. "Yes, go do that." A smile crept onto his face at the thought of his beautiful girlfriend. Moments later, said woman rushed through the door.

"Megamind! I was so worried!" She kissed his big blue forehead. "You just kept on sleeping, and even though Minion told me why, and I know he'd never let anything happen to you, but I just…" Taking a breath, she regained her composure. "I was worried," she repeated, calmer now.

"You're so cute when you're anks-shus," he told her groggily, his tiredness slurring his speech.

She grinned at him. "_Anxious._"

"Tomato, potato."

Giggling, she gave him a gentle shove on the shoulder, and he slumped onto his side.

"Jus' a sec…" he slowly righted himself, looking dizzy. Roxanne laughed again. "'Kay, I'm up," he informed them, swinging his legs out from under the blankets. He stood, but stumbled, clutching his head. "I'm alright," he told them quickly. "I believe I'm experiencing a 'head-rush', as you call it."

Roxanne smiled. "With the size of your head, I'm surprised you haven't before."

"Was that a jibe at my fantastic blue cranium?" he inquired, still nursing it in his hands.

She ignored him. "It'll pass in a few seconds, don't worry."

Stars continued to dance in front of his eyes as his vision swam. A minute passed, and still he cradled his head in his arms. Minion and Roxanne glanced at each other. "Um, maybe because he has a much bigger brain than a human, there's more space for the blood to rush to…?" she suggested, biting her lip.

He groaned, leaning back in the bed. "It's not that unpleasant," he assured them. "It just feels… odd." He yawned again.

"It could be that you're still just really tired, sir." Minion offered. "Miss Ritchie, are there any human methods that might help wake him up?"

"We could try coffee. I have some back at my apartment, I'll be back as soon as I can."

True to her word, she left the room quickly and reappeared not ten minutes later, slightly breathless and clutching a bag of instant coffee. "Doesn't taste as good as the real thing, but I doubt you have anything that could be used as a coffee machine. Do you have a kettle?"

"No, but I'm sure we have something that will work just as well." Minion cast a worried look at the blue alien lying on the bed. "Sir?" he whispered. "Is it any better?"

"You don't need to whisper, Minion, and yes, I feel much better now, though still tired." He punctuated the last part with another wide yawn. "Go help Roxanne make this… cough-fee."

"Right away sir." He left the room as fast as his mechanical-gorilla hybrid body would allow him – which wasn't very fast at all – with Roxanne trailing behind him. "We don't actually have a kettle," he told her. "Whenever we needed heated water, I'd just zap it with one of the ray guns. I was figuring we could just do the same thing now." Roxanne nodded. It was still the same principal, so why shouldn't it work?

She fished a mug out from under one of the lab tables – rinsing it out at the sink, just in case – and set it on Megamind's desk. "One ray-beamed instant coffee, coming right up," Minion told her, zapping the mug. Steam wafted gently above the rim. Stirring it with a spoon she had scrounged from the kitchen, she gave it an experimental sip. It scalded her tongue a little, but it still tasted fine. She nodded to the fish and they headed back to Megamind's room.

Once there, she handed the mug to the blue-skinned hero. He cautiously brought it to his lips, making the tiniest of slurping sounds as he tested the unfamiliar drink. "Sorry that it's only instant coffee," Roxanne apologised, taking in his expression. "The real stuff tastes much better." He had recoiled slightly from the bitter taste but felt his head clear almost instantly. Enthused, he took larger and larger gulps until all the coffee was gone.

"What is this wondrous beverage?" he cried.

Roxanne smirked at him, then glanced at Minion. "I think we should get him a coffee machine."

.:':. .:':. .:':.

A/N: Yay, mildly fluffy filler! Sorry it's so short, but I had to cut it off there or otherwise my dad would've kicked me off the laptop before I could publish it. it may seem a bit rushed because of that, I apologise. Hope you enjoyed it regardless, and please don't forget to tell me what you think!

-pixie.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hello again! Thank you for all the lovely reviews, and the alerts and favourites.

Sorry I didn't update quite as quickly as last time – I have more of a life than I thought I did. :P I guess I should've pre-written some of this, which is what I usually do. Oh well.

Shameless plug time! I posted a drabble called 'Fragments' on Sunday, but no-one reviewed (despite the fact that over 115 people actually read it). If it wouldn't be too much bother, could at least some of you guys give it a read and review? Come oooooon. It's only 100 words long. Do iiiiit. Please? Wait, I have bribes! There'll be faster updates in it for you! *dangles Word files enticingly just out of your reach*

Also, we've used up pretty much all the 'peak' part of our internet plan at my dad's, which means I won't be able to update between 4pm and midnight until January the 3rd, which is when it renews (which is quite annoying, since that is basically the timeframe in which I update my stories. I would have put up this chapter yesterday, but by the time I had finished it was well into peak hours). That doesn't mean I won't be able to post new chapters; it's just that I'll be posting them the day after I finish them. Oh, and I'll be out on my stepdad's boat with my stepdad, my mum and my brother for a week after that starting on January the 4th (my birthday). But I'll type some snippets on my iPod, and connect them up when I get back, so that'll hopefully give you guys a few chapters at least. I apologise in advance for the wait.

So, without further ado, here's chapter 3! (Wait, some more ado: I probably will go back and name the chapters at some later stage; I'm just a bit too lazy to do so at the moment.)

.:':. .:':. .:':.

After seeing the positive effects that coffee had had on him, the first thing that Minion did was buy Megamind a coffee machine. Coffee was only a temporary solution, but they knew that. Roxanne had reasoned that the stresses of his new position had been a bit of a shock to his system. "Besides," she had told the blue hero, "when Metroman was still a hero, he would drink coffee by the bucket load. And he's super-fit, and invincible."

Because of his new coffee intake, Megamind felt more awake whilst doing his new job, and was more able to keep on top of everything. However, there were side effects – he was a little more skittish than before, a little more cranky at times, and there was still the overall problem that he wasn't getting quite enough sleep. At least now, though, he was treading water in his workload rather than drowning in it. Roxanne had given him hope here as well. "You're still, if only on some small, subconscious level, operating as the super villain. You need to give yourself time to adjust. But as well as that, there are the appeals and wants of the public. People love you already, but there are some conflicts in that it was such an unexpected turn of events. I mean, it's not every day that an evil overlord suddenly becomes the hero." She'd smiled fondly at him. "Everyone else needs to adjust, too. Things will calm down to some degree after a while, but for the first few months or so, you'll be swamped with requests to speak at public events, press conferences, ribbon-cutting ceremonies and interviews."

"The last one is reserved for you," he'd promised her.

She had grinned. "I would expect no less."

.:':. .:':. .:':.

"You have reached the residency of Megamind, this is Minion speaking. How may I help you?" The caller immediately launched into a one-sided discussion that left Minion in a confused whirlwind. It was all he could do to hold onto the mobile. The fish glanced pleadingly at his boss, who was busy writing speeches for the upcoming events that required it. The blue hero stuck out his tongue out concentration, and the papers on his desk were covered with scribbles and amendments. Several crumpled balls were already residing in the waste paper basket. _It's far, far easier to write evil, dramatic monologues than it is to write uplifting, heroic speeches,_ he moaned internally. _But I suppose the only way to get better at them is to practice_. Despite his self-bolstering, though, he didn't feel any more motivation or new flash of inspiration. _Metroman was always good at these things,_ Megamind mused. _After all, he's had years of experience. Maybe it's time I paid him a visit._

He didn't know if somehow thinking of the former hero opened up a hidden channel in his (extensive) neural circuits, dedicated to storing little phrases and snippets specifically designed to go in a hero's speech, but suddenly the ideas flowed to his brain, and the ink flowed from his pen to the paper. The page in front of him, which had remained more than half-blank for the better part of an hour, was filled within five minutes. As he reached for a fresh piece to continue his writing on, he noticed Minion's imploring gaze, which became one of relief as he realised he had Megamind's attention. He delicately placed a robotic finger over the mouthpiece of the phone.

"I didn't want to disturb you, sir, knowing how busy you are, and seeing you just got into the swing of writing those speeches, but it's for you." He glanced at the phone, recalling the mile-a-minute talker on the other end. "At least, I _think_ it is."

"I'll take it, Minion." The mechanised body that housed the fish obligingly lumbered over to Megamind's desk and handed him the phone. Said hero was nearly knocked out of his seat in shock at the speed of the caller's voice. He quickly took a long gulp out of his now ever-present coffee mug. His head cleared a little, and he could at least understand most of the words being torpedoed at him. "Ah, yes, I see," he replied, finally managing to cut the caller off. It's wasn't like the time when the girl asking about the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new mall – she had just been an ardent fan. This man was just a natural fast talker. Megamind mentally cringed away from the idea of how fast the man's speech would be when he was excited. "Minion, could you please get me my schedule?" The fish quickly handed over a small black leather volume. With one blue hand, Megamind opened it and leafed through the mostly filled journal. "Hmm, let me see…" As he flicked further and further in, the pages became less crowded with his various penned-in commitments. He smiled at one particular entry – _Dinner with Roxanne, 7:00pm_. "No, definitely can't move that one," he murmured, more to himself than the man on the phone. Finally, he found an open space. "How does two weeks from Friday sound?"

He winced at the anger evident in the man's tone. "Look. As the city's hero, I'm extremely busy. You can't expect me to be able to attend when I've only been notified a day before the event." The man replied, and Megamind's face contorted in rage. "Oh, is that right?" he asked, struggling to keep his voice from betraying his emotions. "Well then, if that's the attitude you're going to have, then it's fairly clear you aren't really all that interested in having me speak at your event. Have a good day." So speaking, he hung up.

"… Wasn't that a little harsh, sir?" Minion asked tentatively.

Megamind gave him a look. "You wouldn't say that if you'd heard what he said to me."

The fish's gaze darkened. "What did he say?" Megamind just raised his eyebrows a little, keeping the rest of his face neutral, giving him an aloof expression.

"It doesn't matter. It's not worth repeating."

He persisted. "I'm serious, sir. If something's bothering you, you can always talk-"

"I _said_ it doesn't matter, Minion!" The ex -villain snapped, his voice ringing out across the room.

Minion scooted to the far end of his tank and his robotic body shrank back, shocked at this uncharacteristic display of fury. Megamind had never done this before. Oh, of course he'd been shouted at by the blue alien on numerous occasions, but that was always in anticipation or excitement, or (most frequently) in exasperation. But never in anger. Not until now.

Because there he stood, chest heaving, a face of thunder framed by the dark collar of his 'thinking cape', glaring daggers at him. Minion was sure that if the blue hero had Metroman's ability to shoot lasers from his eyes, he'd be ready to be served on a plate with chips. "Sir…?" The question was more of a squeak.

Suddenly, all the anger left him like air rushing out of a deflating balloon. He looked very, very small and very, very tired. "I'm sorry, Minion. I shouldn't have shouted at you." He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. His mouth twisted in a wry grin. "This coffee stuff may be all that's keeping me awake, but that's probably my body trying to tell me I need more rest." He looked down at the papers in front of him. The sudden spark of inspiration was gone. "I guess I'll just go to bed early. You'll be alright, Minion?"

The fish nodded slowly, still a little shaken. "I'll be fine, but I'm more worried about you, sir. Your parents charged me with taking care of you, and you're not really letting me do that. Let me share some of your work."

Megamind was already shaking his head. "No. You already do too much for me."

"What else are minions for?" He managed a watery grin.

"You're not just a minion, you're my friend." Megamind told him seriously. "I can't expect a friend to take on a problem that's all my own."

"But sir, that's what being a friend means!" Minion argued. "Helping each other out when the other is in trouble. That's what friends do." Megamind nodded tiredly, smothering a yawn. "Now if you don't mind me saying, sir, you look like you could use a good rest."

"That does sound good."

Minion smiled as gently as a alien fish with razor-sharp teeth can. "It does. And I'll even have your favourite meal ready for you when you wake."

The tired alien hero grinned weakly. "Minion, you fantastic fish you…" He wavered dangerously and Minion caught him as he fell. Megamind's eyelids fluttered briefly at the impact – after all, the gorilla parts of Minion's arms might have been cushioning, but the mechanised parts were fairly uncomfortable to land on – and was asleep in his sidekick's arms an instant later.

.:':. .:':. .:':.

A/N: Oh noes, poor Minion, getting yelled at when he's just trying to help D: What's happening to Megamind? That, dear readers, is called suspense. You will find out what's going on, but not before I have some fun. And oh, what fun I shall have. *cackles evilly*

-pixie.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry sorry sorry! That was a false alarm yesterday! See, I was updating Fragments (one of my other Megamind stories) on my iPod, and what with the tininess of the screen when trying to operate on a non-mobile version of the website, I sort of… accidentally updated this story with the new Fragments chapter, and only realised afterwards the mistake I'd made. *sweat drop* Sorry again. I felt I should update ASAP, to make it up to guys. :)

.:':. .:':. .:':.

Megamind woke in his bed with no memory of how he got there. The last thing he remembered was shouting angrily at Minion. He glanced around guiltily, almost expecting the fish to be standing accusingly in the corner of the room. But he wasn't, of course.

The clock's digital display glowed in the darkness, showing the time to be 5:27 in the morning. He groaned, reaching for the lamp sitting next to the clock and wincing as its sudden brightness probed at his eyes. A few seconds later, though, they adjusted, and he stood up out of his bed. Slowly, of course; he didn't want to set off another ten-minute head rush. _At least this time around, I don't feel half as tired as I did last time_, he mused. He knotted the cord of his custom dressing gown cape around his neck, slid on his black bat slippers and padded over to the door, opening it and stepping into the dim interior of the Lair. Minion was powered down just behind the desk Megamind had gotten for him when he took on his secretarial duties. His gaze lingered uncomfortably on the gorilla-robot hybrid body, guiltiness crashing over him in waves. He shuddered, remembering the way he had reacted to Minion's well-intentioned queries. What was worse was that he couldn't remember what had happened afterwards. Had he calm down and apologised, or continued to vent his fury? How long had it been, even? A few seconds? A few minutes? An hour? What had he done and said in that time? It had all been lost in the fog of unconsciousness. He cast another surreptitious glance at Minion. The robotic components of his artificial body gleamed softly in the low light.

After a moment's indecision, Megamind pulled on the little string that turned on his desk lamp, illuminating the myriad pieces of paper still lying there from the night before. He nodded in satisfaction, seeing that everything on the desktop was as he had left it; he evidently hadn't thrown things around in a fit of rage, leading him to believe that he'd at least calmed down before falling asleep. Though, perhaps, he'd ranted on for a while, then collapsed out of exhaustion. He grimaced at the thought. Resolutely, he sat in his swivel chair and pulled himself towards the desk, grabbing a piece of paper and a pen to continue the speech he had been working on the previous night. With nothing else to do until Minion woke, he'd at least make up for the work time he'd lost.

His pen ran out of ink after about ten minutes. He regarded it in annoyance. It had a sleek design at fit snugly in his hand; in fact, it was his favourite pen. But it didn't have refillable ink. Sighing, he tossed it into the waste paper basket, jumping a little at the jarring clang it made when it hit the bin's metal rim. His head swivelled towards Minion, afraid that he'd woken the fish up, but the cyborg suit remained inactive. A number of pens were scattered on his desk. Several were buried under the haphazardly placed sheets of paper. The sheer number of them worked against him, though; he had to go through at least fourteen pens before he found one with a similar ink colour to the one he had just thrown out, and there were still many more lying there. In fact, he'd had to toss another three pens that didn't work. His desk was a mess, though when he fully appraised the situation, it would only take about five minutes of work to clear it up.

Soon the papers were stacked to one side, in order of relevance. A smaller pile of blank pages sat to the left of it. Three cup-shaped pen holders (he'd had to rummage through all the draws in his desk to find them) now housed his rather extensive pen collection. Honestly, he had no clue how he'd accrued that many in the first place. The various other objects on his desk – objects including the little plastic dipper bird that had now set up a permanent residency in his lab – had been neatly arranged to create more space for him to work on. Nodding with satisfaction, he sat back down in his black swivel chair, not able to resist the temptation to spin it at least once. He steadied himself on the edge of the desk and reached for his pen again, resolutely ignoring the fact that he'd most likely have his desk revert to the way it had been before he tidied it once he got really stuck into his work. The channel in his neural circuits that had inexplicably opened up the night before flowed with thoughts again, and the pile of blank pages rapidly diminished as his pen flew over the paper. Despite his earlier thoughts, the stack of papers remained more or less in one place.

He'd just about finished all the speeches when Minion powered on. Another two emptied pens had made their way into the waste paper basket, their tips poking out of the holes in the black wire mesh. Minion eyed the stacked pages with interest; though he was surprised to see Megamind up already, he could tell the blue-skinned hero was on a roll, and decided not to disturb the his work. Instead, he completed an internal maintenance check, despite the fact that he knew it was unnecessary. He'd had his tank cleaned out and suit serviced by the brain bots. _Still_, he thought, _it's a good idea to make sure, just in case_. He found nothing wrong, however, so tried to move to the door that led to the kitchen as unobtrusively as was possible for a half-tonne fusion of a robotic gorilla and an aquarium. Of course, he was bound to make the odd creak as the hinges of his body shifted, but Megamind was too absorbed in his work to even notice them. He quietly clicked the door shut behind him, but knew he was free to make as much noise as he wanted once inside, since every room in the Lair had been soundproofed many years ago, to prevent distraction while Megamind tinkered away with whatever new invention would 'surely bring Metroman to his knees'. Minion smiled fondly at the recollection of his boss' former antics. Of course, they were the good guys now, and happy enough with it, but it didn't mean he couldn't look upon those past events with some nostalgia. It had been fun in its own way, too.

Shaking himself out of his reverie, he quickly set about making pancakes. The kitchen was surprisingly modern; all the appliances shone with a stainless steel finish. Even though Minion had been bound in servitude to Megamind, it was borne willingly. They had more than an employer-employee relationship – putting aside the fact that they weren't technically employer and employee – they had a friendship that made sure that each looked after the other, though Minion was fairly firm in making sure that he did most of the looking after himself; after all, that was duty assigned to him by Megamind's parents.

Megamind had known of Minion's love for cooking and had gifted him with the state-of-the-art kitchen. True, this had been during a time when the blue alien was still a villain, so the money to pay for it had obviously been stolen, but it was the thought that counted. The fish cyborg had thanked him profusely, then proceeded to further prove his gratitude by preparing an extravagant meal for him.

He grinned at the memory as he whisked the contents of the bowl, the induction stove behind him heating the pan. Deftly, he melted some butter in the pan and poured some of the mix onto it once it was ready. Little bubbles of air popped on the surface as the air inside the batter expanded. He turned the pancake over until it was golden brown on both sides, then flipped the finished pancake out of the pan so that it landed neatly in the centre of the waiting plate, kept warm by one of the other heated pads of the stove. That was one of the best things about the induction stoves, Minion thought – you could heat a plate on it without worrying about soot marks on the bottom, like you would with a gas cooker. He flipped another four pancakes onto the plate in rapid succession before turning off the stove and reaching for the maple syrup bottle in the pantry above his head. He drizzled a generous amount over the top of the stacked cakes, then dug the vanilla ice cream out of the freezer and added a large scoop right in the middle of the top pancake. Knowing that the ice cream would already be starting to melt, he quickly replaced the container in the freezer and grabbed a handful of blueberries from the fridge, scattering them on top and at the base of the pancake tower. He backed carefully out of the kitchen, plate on one hand, the appropriate cutlery in the other.

"Good morning, sir!" he cried cheerily. Megamind's head snapped up in confusion. His gaze flickered from where Minion had rested the previous night to where he was now, a worried expression on his face as he turned back to the cyborg fish. Minion's smile dropped a little. "What is it, sir? Is something wrong?"

"Minion," he asked softly, almost pleadingly, "after I yelled at you last night… What happened? I can't remember."

"Well… you fell asleep pretty soon after that, so that explains why you don't remember it. But you'd kind of exploded at me, then you went all sad and apologised, and made sure I knew we were friends." He smiled a little. "You finally agreed to let me take a little more of your workload."

"What? No. You already do enough for me," he insisted, though he was clearly glad the way things had panned out. At least he hadn't continued to unfairly berate Minion after his initial outburst.

Now the grin was plastered across his face. "That's exactly what you said last night."

"Was it?" he asked distractedly, then noticed the plate of pancakes in Minion's hand. "You made me pancakes!"He brightened visibly, reaching eagerly for them like a child. Minion glanced down, realising with consternation that the ice cream was now half melted.

"Oh yeah. Here you are, sir." He put the plate and cutlery on an open space on the desktop. Personally, he had never understood why Megamind enjoyed eating the little indigo fruit so much. He would have thought it would remind him of the taunting names he'd been called as a child. He eyed Megamind, now wolfing down his breakfast with abandon. Minion couldn't help but grin. _Apparently not._

.:':. .:':. .:':.

A/N: I know it's a bit of an awkward place to stop, I'm sorry. The paragraphs are just so _long_… D: At least until the end.

Well, they were for me, anyway. I mean, I normally have a lot more shorter paragraphs scattered through a chapter than I did in this one. *shrugs* Maybe that's why it seemed a little shorter than usual, despite the fact it's actually longer. Also that it's almost completely pointless and doesn't really progress the plot much more.

I have no idea how much Minion's suit would actually weigh, but it'd be pretty heavy, and I just _had_ to put the phrase 'half-tonne fusion of a robotic gorilla and an aquarium' in there as soon as I thought of it.

So, hope you enjoyed, review please and all that jazz.

Oh, and merry New Year's Eve day, everyone! :P

-pixie.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Merry New Year's Day, everyone! Damn, I've been meaning to post this chapter since last year. :P

.:':. .:':. .:':.

The rest of the day transgressed in much the same manner. Megamind, despite Minion's assurances, was still a little careful around his companion, diligently paying attention to his own work and making sure he wasn't leaving anything to Minion that he had the capability and time to complete himself. Ironically enough, this just made the fish even more worried, although there was an edge of caution to his concern. Neither of them wanted to set Megamind into another fit of rage.

Conversation between the two was non-existent. Minion found it so stifling compared to their usual friendly chatter, and finally he couldn't take it anymore. He searched for a conversation starter, then decided to wing it. "Sir?"

His head snapped up instantly. "Yes, Minion? Is something wrong?"

Minion sighed internally. "No, no, everything's fine, sir. I just wanted to talk, like we usually do."

"Oh." Megamind said nothing beyond that, caught by surprise. They both stared at each other for a few moments, waiting for the other to speak, the level of awkwardness now even higher than it had been previously.

"Um… You remember Roxanne is coming over for dinner tomorrow, right?" Minion blurted out after flailing wildly around for a discussable topic. It seemed to work – Megamind's features softened at the mention of his girlfriend's name.

"Of course. I couldn't forget that!" He seemed scandalised at the mere thought. It was unfortunate, but his new position made it very hard for them to spend much quality time together. Then, he launched into a lengthy description of how he wanted everything to be set out. Minion smiled as the blue alien returned to his normal self now that he'd gotten really into the conversation. Occasionally, he'd interject with his own ideas and suggestions, and he carefully analysed each one before either approving or rejecting it. Slowly, he calmed down, and turned back to his work. However, his enormous brainpower and intellect allowed him to multitask with ease, and he continued to talk as his hand flew over the paper. That week, there had been a temporary lull in public events, and so Megamind hadn't needed to leave the lab in that respect. Of course, there had been small incidents like fires and car accidents, but the Brainbots always dealt with things like that now, as well as maintaining public cleanliness and patrolling the streets at night.

Megamind simply didn't have the time to handle these more minor dealings, though this might have been – and he would never admit it – largely due to his own poor time management. Being a hero called for a very different schedule than the one he was used to, after all. However, he was determined that he'd figure out a way to balance out his work so that he wasn't quite so thinly stretched all the time. Overburdening himself would just lead to exhaustion and consequently crashing suddenly into unconsciousness that would last a day or so, if his recent experiences were anything to go by. This would leave Minion snowed under a workload that he would try his best to cope with, but inevitably it would be too much for him, and it would just leave Megamind with even more to do when he did wake.

Of course he tried not to let himself get to that point, but often the knowledge of how much he still needed to do overpowered his reason and logic. He knew, though, he'd need to gain control over this habit – sure, that week he hadn't needed to make any public appearances, but what if he slept though a day when some important event was occurring that he'd promised he'd to show up at?

One such event was the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new mall that weekend. He sighed a little irritably – he'd only really agreed to attend to get the girl on the other end of the phone to leave him alone, and he'd had to shuffle his plans for that day around to fit. He tended to ignore the fact that with Minion in a secretarial position, most of the 'busy' aspect of his career was, in fact, spent staring at a blank page trying to figure out heroic-enough sounding replies to public requests, and of course the all-important heroic speeches. Sometimes, he wondered if people actually cared more about how his speeches sounded than if he actually did his job as hero properly.

Whatever the case, he was getting better and better at coming up with inspiring addresses. The Hero Circuit – as he'd secretly nick-named it – had extended into a network of neural connectors that were slowly encroaching into the portion of his brain that had previously supplied inspiration for his dramatic villainous monologues. Now, the piles of work that had been increasing at an alarming rate that he'd previously been unable to find a way to correctly finish were rapidly diminishing. He felt a certain sense of satisfaction that he was finally getting the hang of his new job, mingled with self-directed annoyance that he hadn't done so sooner.

By the end of the day, he'd sliced the waiting workload in half. But as soon as he'd put his pen down, an unexpected onslaught of exhaustion assaulted him. Luckily, Minion was at his desk – he was often in and out of the Lair, running errands and checking up on any unusual behaviour reported by the Brainbots – so he was there when Megamind's body decided that now was the time for sleep. "Minion," he stated simply, "I'm tired." So saying, he dropped his head into the stack of pages he'd just finished writing on.

The startled fish-cyborg jumped out of his seat and rushed towards the slumped figure. "Sir!" he exclaimed, gently shaking him by the shoulder, but he continued to sleep. Helplessly, he lifted Megamind off the papers before he drooled on them, then, making it the third time that week that he'd carried the unconscious hero to his room.

.:':. .:':. .:':.

"He's asleep _again_?" Roxanne asked disbelievingly.

Minion nodded, uncomfortable. "I'm afraid so, Miss Ritchie. He did quite a lot of work yesterday – probably half of what was piled up." Her eyebrows rose. "It seems he's finally gotten the hang of the more technical side to being a hero," he explained.

"But he invited me over for dinner tonight! You're telling me that he's most likely going to sleep through something that _he_ arranged?" The fish nodded. She growled in frustration.

"Well then, we'll just have to wake him up," she told him resolutely, marching towards the bedroom at the opposite end of the Lair, ignoring Minion's protests as he trailed behind her.

"Miss Ritchie, I'm not really sure that's a good idea. Waking him up before his body decides that he's slept enough could just disrupt his sleeping patterns even more. Before we know it, he could become nocturnal or something!" She gave him a look after that last remark. "What?" he asked defensively. "It's a possibility, you know!"

She allowed a small smile despite herself as she pushed the door open. Minion reluctantly followed her inside. "Rise and shine, Megamind!" Grabbing his shoulders, she shook him, none to gently. The fish winced involuntarily. "I don't think girlfriends treat their boyfriends like that, Miss Ritchie," he told her mildly. "Besides, he-"

"They do when said boyfriend is sleeping through a date he arranged," she said firmly. Her rough treatment hadn't roused the blue alien, though. He slept on just as soundly as he had before. She crossed her arms angrily. "That does it," she muttered.

Drawing a deep breath and leaning close to the unsuspecting alien's ear, she shouted, "If you were any sort of boyfriend, you'd wake up right now!" She stepped back, glancing smugly at Minion as the alien hero groaned and shifted in his bed. Then, he simply turned over and kept on sleeping. Her jaw dropped and she looked from Minion to Megamind several times. "I don't believe him!" she fumed.

"Miss Ritchie, if you'd let me finish, please? It's very hard to wake him when he's crashed. I've tried lots of things over the years, but none of them work. It's best to just let him wake on-"

"Have you tried slapping him?"

Minion looked horrified. "Of course not, Miss Ritchie! My role is to protect him, not brutalise him!"

A grin tugged the corner of her lips. "Well, there's a first time for everything." She made to move towards the bed again but Minion caught her in his robotic arms.

She wriggled in his grasp. "Oh, come on! You know I wasn't going to hit him too hard."

"Miss Ritchie, please listen!" he protested. "Waking him after he's crashed could be very damaging for his health." Still she tried in vain to pry herself from his grip. "Just give him some time."

"I'll give him ten minutes," she acquiesced. "Then I'm slapping him." He sighed, but figured that was the best he was going to get, and let her go. She tapped her foot impatiently, glancing at her watch every few seconds.

In the end, it only took four minutes for him to wake. He gazed around blearily, still mostly in the realm of unconsciousness. Without thinking, he reached out for the edge of the blanket and tossed it off himself, then froze. _What the…?_ Why was he in a bed in the first place? A little more awake, he saw Minion standing a little off to the side. He opened his mouth to ask Minion why he was in a bed.

Then he saw Roxanne.

"Minion!" he screeched. "What is _she_ doing here?" He pulled the covers back up. _I can't let her see me in my _pyjamas_!_ He thought.

"Well, sir, she came over for the dinner you invited her to, but you were still aslee-"

"_Dinner?_" he asked, almost contemptuously. "Minion, I did not invite our hostage over for _dinner_."

Roxanne and Minion exchanged glances. _Hostage?_ Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

.:':. .:':. .:':.

A/N: Shock! Drama! Suspense! Other random imperative statements intended to hook readers, but instead having a decidedly cheesy effect!

So yeah, something bad is going down with Megamind. Don't worry, it gets worse. *cackles and stokes a black cat*

-pixie.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Yeah, there was a change of plans - we're not going out on the boat 'til the 16th now. As for why it took me so long to update… well, I'm just lazy. Deal with it. :P

.:':. .:':. .:':.

"Megamind?" Roxanne asked hesitantly, one hand stretching towards him.

He scooted up against the backboard, determined to stay out of her reach. Because he didn't have any of his guns with him, he had to improvise. So he grabbed for the nearest substantial object - the lamp on the bedside table. "Back, woman!" he commanded, brandishing it in her face. She stared at it in shock for a second, then glanced quizzically at him.

"A lamp. Are you seriously trying to ward me off with a _lamp_?"

His eyes flickered uncertainly to the still-motionless fish-cyborg standing to the side. "Minion!" he hissed. "What are you doing? A little help would be nice, you know!"

Minion stayed where he was, looking very worried. "But sir… We're the good guys now, remember?"

"What? Th-that's ridiculous!" he blustered, but he wasn't quite as convincing as before. It had only been a small idea, niggling away at the back of his head, but he'd been wondering if it'd be so bad to _not_ be bad. What's more, his mind was telling him that it was quite likely that Minion was telling the truth. And with a brain Megamind's size, it'd be wise to listen to what it tells you.

"Megamind?" Roxanne repeated, more firmly than last time. "What's the last thing you remember?" She saw a hint of rebellion enter his eyes, and she warned him, "Don't try and make something up, I'll know if you're lying. I'll slap you if you try." He tried - unsuccessfully - to neutralise his expression. She considered him for a second, lips pursed. "You know what? I'll make it easy for you - I'll go through events and see which ones you remember.

"Do you remember killing Metroman?" He nodded cautiously, not sure how she'd react. "Okay. That's a start. How about realising life as a villain had no purpose without a hero to fight with?" He looked at her suspiciously but nodded wordlessly once more. "Hmm." She tapped her chin, taking a breath.

"What about pretending to be Bernard and turning Hal into Tighten?" He didn't even nod this time, but his eyes widened marginally and he tensed his grip on the lamp, which was answer enough. "Well, that helps a bit, I guess. Not long after that was when you became the hero, so I'm asking you how much you remember since then."

He was unsure how she had found out about his plans, but it was even more reason to maintain a healthy level of suspicion. "Why would I tell you a thing?"

Roxanne's eyes narrowed. "That's it." A resounding crack of flesh on flesh rang out in the room. The lamp clattered to the floor. Minion blinked.

"Wow. You actually did it, Miss Ritchie."

"Well, he was starting to get annoying." she replied, gazing at the stunned Megamind and absently shaking the tingles from her hand.

The alien in question raised his hand to his cheek, astounded. He didn't feel the pain yet – he was still in shock. What exactly had happened? His mind was a confused jumble. He'd seemed to have suffered from a short bout of amnesia; that much was obvious. But why? And had Roxanne _really_ needed to slap him? He voiced this last thought.

She appraised him for a second, then replied, "So I guess you remember then?"

His brow knotted with worry, he nodded. "But I have no idea why I lost those memories in the first place. That's what's bothering me. I mean, so far, the only thing we know is that slapping me is what brings me out of it." He allowed a small smile. "And I don't want to be slapped every time it happens."

Instead of them smiling, as he had expected, they just looked more concerned.

"Sir? Do you mean you think it'll happen again?"

Megamind shifted uncomfortably, plucking at the edge of the bed cover. "It's already happened before, though I didn't get back the memories I lost that time. You know what I'm talking about, Minion," he continued before either of them could interrupt. "The night before you made me pancakes for breakfast." He gave the fish a meaningful look.

"What do mean, sir?" He looked momentarily confused, then his face cleared. "Oh, right. _That _night."

"I have a feeling I'm missing something."

The blue hero made a placating gesture. "Don't worry, it's not important. What's important is that it's happened before, and could happen again. In each scenario, I'd been working myself too hard before falling asleep, then waking up with this amnesia." He grinned ruefully. "It seems very likely that it's being caused by overworking myself."

Roxanne's brow was still furrowed with concern. "We should get you to a hospital."

He swung his legs out from under the covers and levered himself out of bed so he could clasp her hands in his own. "They wouldn't know what to do," he said, slightly derisively. "You may have forgotten, but I'm an alien. They'd have no idea how to diagnose anything with me."

She bit her lip. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I am."

The corners of her mouth turned up slightly. "So what do we do?"

He squeezed her hands, smiling encouragingly. "Like I said, it's probably because I've been overworking myself. So, I'll just have to stop doing that."

"So sir, does that mean you'll let me take on some of your workload?" Minion asked.

Megamind sighed. "I guess I'll have to." He still seemed unhappy about the idea.

"Sir, it's for your own good. Besides, I have plenty of extra time. I could always get the Brainbots to do some of the more menial tasks."

Roxanne decided it would be prudent to add her own thoughts. "Minion's right. This is obviously something really serious. You should let us help. Is there anything I could do?" She added the last part on as an afterthought.

He smiled again. "Well, you could let me get changed so we can get on with the dinner that I invited you to."

She grinned at him, pushing away her worry. "How could I refuse?"

"Minion, can you please get the food ready?"

The fish nodded inside his tank. "Of course, sir. I've already prepared your meals, but I'll need a few minutes to reheat them." His voice started to fade as he led Roxanne out of the room. "Miss Ritchie, would you mind waiting in the lab? I'm sure that it would be…" The rest of his words became muffled after Megamind closed the door.

.:':. .:':. .:':.

"So," Roxanne said conversationally, "This is a new look."

Megamind held her in an agonising gaze. "Do you like it?" Even with all the assurances that Minion had given him, telling him he looked great – after all, how could he not? – he still wanted to know if Roxanne approved.

She hid a grin by popping another piece of pasta into her mouth. _I have to compliment Minion on his cooking,_ she thought. _This stuff is amazing._ "Oh," she said airily, "It's okay, I guess."

"I _knew_ it was a bad idea!" he wailed. "I mean just _look_ at it!" He gestured at the turquoise polo neck and black skinny jeans he was wearing. "Not even the tiniest scrap of leather, not to mention-" He stopped abruptly as she burst out laughing, no longer able to contain her amusement. His eyes narrowed as he realised she'd been pulling his leg.

"Oh yes, very funny, isn't it Miss Ritchie? Getting the better of the super genius?" He pushed out of his seat and stuck his nose in the air. She just laughed harder, tears of mirth streaming down her face. "Why does she find this so amusing?" He asked the ceiling seeing as his face was still pointed upwards. Of course, it didn't answer.

Roxanne wiped the wetness from her cheeks, still giggling sporadically as he lowered his head to glare at her. "You should have seen your _face_!" she gasped finally. Settling down, she stood, patted his arm soothingly and smiled. "It actually looks really good on you. Much better than your usual getup, anyway."

He stuck his nose in the air again, more than a little peeved that she was so dismissive of his hero outfit. "I'll have you know I _like_ my "usual getup", as you so callously call it."

Her eyelids lowered seductively. "Really? That's a shame. I think this look is kind of… sexy."

Suddenly, his cheeks went an interesting hue of pinkish-purple. "R-Really? Well, I, uh… That is to say, I don't _not_ like this one too," he stammered. Roxanne grinned at him, putting a finger over his lips to stop his ramblings. He stared cross-eyed at it.

"You talk far too much."

"You think so?" he mumbled around her finger. "Because I'm not entirely sure that you're – oh." He cut himself off, feeling a little sheepish.

Still smiling at him, she lowered her finger, trailing her hands down his chest. His own crept up to claim them and they slowly inched their faces towards each other, and their lips were almost touching when Minion walked into the room, carrying two lidded dessert trays.

"Dessert!" he proclaimed, not yet having noticed that he had interrupted them. "Miss Ritchie, you're going to love – ooh, sorry." He seemed to shrink in on himself a little.

"Minion!" Megamind cried, still holding Roxanne's hands captive against his chest. "Can't you see we're having a _tender moment_?" Roxanne raised an eyebrow at him, bemused at his wording of the situation.

"Yes, sir, I'm sorry. I'll leave, just pretend I wasn't here."

"No," he sighed dramatically, releasing Roxanne's hands and slumping back into his chair, the back of one hand resting wearily on his expansive forehead. "The moment's gone."

"Oh. In that case, would you like dessert?"

Roxanne hastily agreed. "Yes please, Minion. The pasta tasted incredible, by the way."

He fluttered his fins happily. "Thank you, Miss Ritchie." He set down the dessert trays and revealed their contents with a flourish, setting the lids to the side. "Voila." Two extremely appetising-looking pieces of chocolate mud cake sat invitingly on each platter.

"Mmm, that looks good." She hurried to return to her chair, eager to dig in.

Megamind glanced down, and couldn't contain his own eagerness. The cake sitting on the plate before him disappeared in three swift bites.

"Where are your manners?" Roxanne asked, mock-admonishingly.

"S'rry," he mumbled through the mouthful of cake. He tried unsuccessfully to swallow, then shrugged internally and turned to Minion. "F'nk 'oo, M'ny'n. 'S r'ly g'd."

Minion smiled. "Thank you, sir! I think." Megamind nodded emphatically, still trying to get down the too-large portion of cake in his mouth.

Roxanne shook her head at the blue alien, smirking slightly as she took a delicate nibble of her own slice. Her eyes widened and she made an exclamation of delight, all thoughts of a dignified manner gone. She gulped down the cake even faster than Megamind had.

Having finally managed to ingest his piece and regarded her cryptically. "And you tell _me_ off for eating too quickly. Hypocrite."

.:':. .:':. .:':.

A/N: Gah, awkward cut-off again! T^T

But eh, I felt like putting something smushy in. Hope you all approve/don't mind. I realise I'm probably putting in way more filler than I should, but if I don't the story would only be about five chapters long and it'd seem too rushed. Bear with me, please? :)

I apologise again for my lack of updates. I was at my grandma's house for two nights, and I'd forgotten the USB that had the first part of this chapter on it. Now, my dad's at work again, and since I write this on his work laptop, I can only type for a few hours each day, seeing as the desktop at dad's was freaking _ancient_ and it had to be tossed. So, sorry again. I'll try to update at least once before I go out on the boat, more if I can.

-pixie.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I tried to get this chapter up as quick as possible, hope it's not too rushed, and that you enjoy!

.:':. .:':. .:':.

Megamind made quite the comical figure. He was wearing a teal skivvy similar to the one he had the night before, as well as a pair of snug black cargo pants and black and turquoise patterned Converse. But what made him look ridiculous was that over the top of the casual attire, he had fastened his 'thinking cape'- a high-collared, sweeping black affair. Even worse, his tongue protruded slightly as he worked, making him seem younger and giving him the overall appearance of a child playing at superheroes.

Minion chose that moment to walk into the lab, and he bit back a snigger. "Um, sir?" he asked tentatively. "Maybe, considering your current attire, you shouldn't be wearing such a, um, _powerful_-looking cape?"

The blue hero looked up, hastily retracting his tongue. "What do you mean?"

He rubbed the back of his tank. "Well, when you're wearing such a majestic cape-" He struggled not to put any emphasis on the word 'majestic' "-without your hero outfit, it just seems a little… overbearing."

Putting down his pen, Megamind steepled his fingers, smiling slightly. "I understand what you mean, Minion. Don't worry, your not insulting me." His smile grew as the fish relaxed visibly. "I'm aware that, difficult as it may be to believe, I do look just a bit… bizarre like this."

Emboldened, Minion interjected with, "Maybe a bit more than just a bit."

Megamind glowered at him briefly. "Anyway," he continued, slightly louder to discourage further interruptions, "Though at first I only started wearing these more casual clothes because I wondered what Roxanne would think of them, I soon realised that they're far more comfortable that what I usually wear."

_You don't say_, Minion thought.

"But," Megamind held up a finger, "It felt strange not wearing a cape, like I was missing something. And you know I can't work well without my thinking cape."

Minion nodded sagely, somehow repressing the grin he could feel tugging at his lips.

To Megamind and his superior powers of intelligence and observation, it was altogether too obvious that Minion was trying his best not to laugh. "Oh, go on," he sighed dramatically. "Go ahead and laugh at your oldest and dearest friend."

The fish needed no more encouragement than that. His robotic body fell to the ground as he was racked with a paroxysm of laughter, his fist clanging dully on the metal floor of the lab. Megamind glared at him icily. "If you're done," he prompted.

Minion got to his feet, grinning sheepishly. "Sorry, sir." A few stray chuckles escaped him.

"Well, at least one of us finds it amusing," Megamind muttered, half to himself.

Slightly shamefaced, Minion made his way to his desk without another sound. He glanced down at the work that Megamind had been forced to give him and his expression became stern. "Sir, when I said I would take on some of your workload, I didn't mean that I'd work something that'd take either of us five minutes to complete." He indicated the single slip of paper that Megamind had left there. "I know you want to do all your own work yourself, but for the sake of your health, sir, you _need_ to let me take on more." His tone left no room for argument, but Megamind promptly ignored that, and adopted an innocent look.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I would have thought that would take an hour, at least."

"You've got me doing a routine check-up on the Brainbots' camera connection to the main screen, sir. You and I both know that it only takes a few minutes of simple calibrations to do that." His tone became gentler. "Sir… please don't insult my intelligence. I may not be as smart as you, but I'm smart enough." So saying, he clomped over to the Megamind's desk and picked a selection of the myriad papers waiting there, ignoring the blue alien's protests.

He moved purposefully back to his own desk, setting down his stack and started doggedly working his way through them. Megamind sighed and shook his head, but otherwise turned quietly to the rest of the papers sitting in front of him.

Even though Minion had taken a chunk out of what he had to do there was still a full day's work ahead of him. He secretly he was glad that the fish was going out of his way to aid him, but there was still an underlying current of internally directed inadequacy. He felt that he should be able to do the work himself, stubbornly ignoring the fact that it wasn't a one-person workload. Sighing again, he picked up a pen and determinedly set himself to his own work.

.:':. .:':. .:':.

They both glanced periodically at the clock display that they had set up on one of the computer screens, doing so more often as the day wore on. The lab had no windows, so this was the only way they could tell what time of day it was.

With a contented exhalation of air, Megamind set down his pen. He'd finally finished that day's work – a little faster than usual because of the extra Minion had taken on. Said alien fish wasn't that far behind him.

Megamind stood and stretched, his arms reaching as far as they could above his head. "You almost done, Minion?" he asked, eyelids drooping a little as he smothered a yawn.

"Almost, sir." He smiled softly. "Don't wait up for me to finish, sir. You should get some sleep. The new Metro Mall is opening tomorrow, remember?"

The blue hero nodded, lip curled scornfully at the name. "You'd think they'd be a little more original," he remarked.

Minion shrugged. "You know how people are."

"Humans _are_ a generally lazy species," he acquiesced.

"Exactly. Now go to bed. Don't forget, Miss Ritchie will be there," he added teasingly. Megamind brightened and obligingly padded across the lab to his room.

.:':. .:':. .:':.

Megamind tossed in his bed, finding it impossible to get to sleep. He glanced at the clock and groaned. It was far too late for him to still be up – or too early? – when he had to make a public appearance later that day. He realised that if he didn't get to sleep soon, he'd most likely not wake in time, and miss out on seeing Roxanne. The thought made him panic for a second, then, as his brain processed the logic, he slowly drifted into the realm of unconsciousness.

.:':. .:':. .:':.

He'd woken a little more tired than he would have liked, but it was passable. He dressed quickly, having Minion drive him to the new mall. In fact, he got there a little early, but he accepted that philosophically.

A temporary white-painted brick wall had been set up, presumably for him to blast through with one of his ray guns. One of the organisers hurried over to him, rapidly rattling off a list of what Megamind was expected to do that day. It was a fairly standard setup and Megamind nodded a few times as the man spoke, easily understanding where he needed to be and when. When that was finished, he was mostly left alone.

Situated a little bit back from the wall of white brick was a row of chairs and tables, presumably for people of importance attending the event. He sank gratefully into the chair that had been designated to him, and, deciding a small nap wouldn't hurt, was soon dozing in the early morning sunshine.

One of the organisers woke him about an hour later, apologetically explaining that the proceedings were almost underway. He nodded hastily and took his place behind the brick wall.

With a start of panic, he actually _felt_ another bout of amnesia setting in. Slowly, his memories of earlier in the day began to blur. He realised that, though his nap in the sun had only been brief, his unconscious state left his brain weaker than when it was in use, leaving it vulnerable to the onset of memory loss. He hadn't been asleep long enough for him to forget anything completely, though it was starting to get foggy. Spotting Roxanne waving discreetly from where she was standing, he returned the flutter of fingers, concealing his nervousness. Setting himself firmly, he turned back to face the wall.

He knew it was a race now. To see which would happen first – the event's completion, or his loss of memory. With a sinking feeling, he realised that the scales were quickly tipping to the latter.

.:':. .:':. .:':.

Blue sparks of electricity crackled over the pristine white of the brick wall, and suddenly a person-sized hole appeared, crumbling bricks spewing everywhere. Megamind cocked his ray gun. "Put your hands in the air!" he declared, eliciting wild screams from his fans, some waving Megamind masks around crazily in their jubilance. "Now hand over your wallets!"

The assembled crowd laughed; it had pretty much become his catch-phrase whenever he made a public appearance. The laughter died as the blue alien continued to flick the aim of the gun from person to random person, eyes glazed and an unmistakably evil grin on his face.

Roxanne watched him, confused. What on earth was he doing? Then it hit her, with a devastating clarity.

It was the amnesia again.

She didn't know why it was acting up when he'd already been awake. After all, he'd only had two episodes of it so far. Maybe it had just been coincidence that both the previous occasions, it had been in affect as he woke. Whatever the case, the problem lay in the fact that it was happening, right now, in public. She signalled to the cameraman and rushed over to the blue alien.

"Megamind, are you alright?" She knew he wasn't, but it seemed the only logical thing to say. His eyes cleared and he lowered the blaster, turning towards her voice. He looked at the gun in his hand and dropped it in horror, realising what he'd been about to do.

"Roxanne?" he asked, confused. "What was I...?"

She tentatively reached out to him, lowering her voice so no one else could hear. "Megamind? I think it's happening again."

There was a flare of panic in his eyes. "Roxanne..." This time, her name was sigh. Now extremely concerned, she noticed a thin trail of blood running from the corner of his mouth. It only mildly surprised her that his blood was as red as a human's - she was far more worried about the fact that he was bleeding in the first place.

Her panic only increased when he whispered her name again, and, without warning, fell unconscious into her arms.

.:':. .:':. .:':.

A/N: Stupid spell-check, steepled is a word! *glares at computer*

Where was I? Oh yeah, cliff-hanger, right. Dun dun duuun! Megamind's amnesia strikes again, but now he's bleeding, probably internally, and unconscious? Could this get any more like a soap opera! Answer: Yes, yes it could. But the REAL question is, will it? *ominous backlighting*

-pixie.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Gah, my parents just can't make up their _minds_! *screams, frustrated*

Ahem. Yeah, the date for me going on the boat has changed. Again. Now I'm going out on the 18th. That's good for you guys, though – I may be able to squeeze off another chapter before then. :)

.:':. .:':. .:':.

Roxanne was aware of all the cameras on her and the unconscious Megamind, and the other reporters already pressing forward to get the scoop on what was happening.

Perhaps it was fortunate, but the blood trailing from the corner of Megamind's mouth had wiped off onto the equally red sleeve of Roxanne's shirt. She wasn't sure if any other the cameras had caught footage of it in the first place, but now they definitely wouldn't. For the first time, as she looked over to the horde of reporters all trying to beat each other to the punch, she felt a sense of disgust at what her profession sometimes called for. The city's hero was unconscious, and all they cared about was getting an interview from his girlfriend, hoping there was some sort of big scandal going on.

_Take a deep breath_, she told herself. She smiled wanly at the crowd, ignoring the mob that would soon start shoved cameras and microphones in her face. "Sorry about this, folks," she called out to the crowd, and the press redoubled their efforts so they could capture every word. "Megamind hasn't really been sleeping that well, and he's been overworking himself. That's why he's collapsed. He'll be fine in a few days." _I hope_. She forced another weak grin. "Don't worry," she assured the confused crowd. "Everything will be fine." A little more quietly, she added, "Though now I do need to get him home." She shifted the comatose blue alien in her arms so she was carrying him bridal style. He was surprisingly light.

Thinking quickly, she reached down and grabbed Megamind's wrist, switching on the communicator on his watch. "Minion!" she hissed into it now. "I need you to get the invisible car to the back of the new mall as fast as possible." The reporters had closed in on her now, and a multitude of microphones were waving in front of her as they all jostled for space.

"Miss Ritchie, what is it, really, that just happened?"

"Has Megamind fallen ill?"

"Are you able to comment, Miss Ritchie?"

The questions bombarded her from every direction. She hastily gave a general 'no comment' and made pushed open the doors of the mall.

Her heels clicked echoingly as she made her way through the empty mall, Megamind still cradled, unconscious, in her arms. It was eerie, being in a mall with absolutely no one else around. Roxanne was used to seeing hundreds of people milling around whenever she went to the mall – any mall. She couldn't help but look furtively to her left and right, as if expecting a crowd to suddenly come streaming in.

She glanced down at Megamind, hoping he had woken, but of course he hadn't. Initially, he had been light, but now her arms, unused to carrying large weights, were beginning to protest. There was still at least half the mall left for her to traverse, and she groaned inwardly, quickening her pace. Finally, she reached the back entrance, where Minion was already waiting with the invisible car. His concern was almost palpable. "What's happened?" he asked, gesturing the still form of Megamind that she was in the process of strapping in to the front seat. She clambered into the back seat, putting on her own seatbelt and closing the door before answering.

"It was the amnesia again. I don't know why it hit him in the middle of the day, but I think he did get his memories back before he fell unconscious." She shook her head. "What worries me is that he was bleeding from his mouth. I may not have much medical knowledge, but I know that's bad."

Gripping the wheel so tightly it cracked a little, Minion took a calming breath to steady his frantic nerves. "I agree, Miss Ritchie. This is bad. It probably means he's bleeding internally. But I think we should wait until we get back to the Lair before we start discussing this. After all, we can have a better look at him there, instead of relying on a hasty diagnosis." He turned and smiled weakly at her to show he meant no insult by the words.

She nodded, eyes downcast. "No, it's okay." She fiddled with the seatbelt. "I understand. I just… I wish we knew what's wrong with him."

"Don't worry, Miss Ritchie. We will."

The rest of the car trip was silent.

Minion insisted that he carry the unconscious hero inside. Roxanne, sensing how important it was to him, deferred to him without a word. With the utmost care, Minion laid Megamind down on his bed, gently tucking the bedcovers around him. Leaning against the wall closest to the bed with her arms crossed, Roxanne couldn't help but grin. "You look like a concerned parent."

He turned inside his tank to face her. "Well, in a way, I am, Miss Ritchie. I mean, his parents made me his guardian, and that's close enough, right?"

"Definitely close enough." Her smile faded and she sighed, moving closer to stand alongside Minion. "He looks so… vulnerable," she murmured.

"Well, he's sturdier than he looks, Miss Ritchie," Minion said, his irrepressible cheeriness showing through. "He's been through some pretty tough scrapes before, and come out of them no worse for wear."

Roxanne raised an eyebrow. "Tough scrapes? What do you mean?"

The fish seemed distinctly uncomfortable. "When he was a villain, of course. He has amazing recuperative strength, but he's not indestructible like Metroman is." He looked at her meaningfully and her eyes widened.

"But… I never thought…" She was lost for words, realising that, in essence, this made Megamind the victim, and Metroman the bully. Megamind had never told her about his school life before, so she'd had no way of knowing.

Minion nodded, a little sadly. "Not many people would. It helps, of course, that he never let any injuries keep him for too long. He's a fighter." He smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, Miss Ritchie. He'll be fine." He lowered his voice. "He has to be."

Searching quickly for a less disheartening topic, she came up with, "Do you have to call me Miss Ritchie all the time?" She smiled. "It _is_ okay for you to call me Roxanne, you know. You're too formal when you talk to friends."

His face suddenly lit up with a smile that stretched the entire width of his face. "Really, Miss Ritchie? We're friends?" he asked wonderingly. "I've never had a friend besides sir." He looked to her for confirmation. She nodded, but gazed at him pointedly. Belatedly, he added, "Oh, I mean, Roxanne." The word felt strange coming from his mouth.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, never mind. I can see it's easier for you to call me Miss Ritchie."

"Okay, Miss Ritchie." She grinned and raised her eyes to the heavens. "Sir might take a few days to recover. I think it's best if we just left him to rest for a while."

.:':. .:':. .:':.

"_The details are still mostly unknown, and anyone close to Megamind is currently unavailable for comment."_ The stern-looking reporter was wearing a pigeon-grey dress suit, her brown her savagely pulled back into a bun. Roxanne growled and all but stabbed the off button of the remote with her thumb. "Honestly, every news channel in this city spends half an hour saying that they don't know what's going on."

It had been a little over four days since the incident at the new Metro Mall. Both Minion and Roxanne were on edge. Minion spent the time intermittently checking on Megamind, and tackling the growing stack of work. Roxanne, of course, had work of her own to deal with, though she had tried to convince Minion to let her stay by Megamind's side. He had to practically force her out the door so she would got to her job. Her apartment had stayed empty since Megamind had fallen unconscious; every evening, she would go to the Lair in the hope that he had woken, then stayed there until morning, hoping that he would. Each time, she was bitterly disappointed, and she had grown moody and crabby with each progressive day.

Minion tended to steer clear of her in her worse moods. She would only settle when they were tending to Megamind, which she insisted she helped with. "I am his girlfriend, after all."

On the fifth day, he finally woke, if only briefly. He was aware of where he was, and hadn't seemed to have lost any of his memories, which he quickly reassured them of. Roxanne and Minion had been with him at the time, and they'd grinned wearily at each other, thinking that the worse had finally passed.

Right up until he started vomiting up blood.

He heaved helplessly, and to Roxanne it seemed that there was far too much. It lasted for an awful two minutes, then he drew a deep, shuddering breath and went under again. She turned her worried gaze to Minion.

"I don't care what he's said. We need to get him to a hospital."

.:':. .:':. .:':.

A/N: Bwahahaha! Megamind was right – being evil is much cooler. :)

I *might* be able to update within the next two days. If I can't, there won't be any updates for a week after that, seeing as I'll be on the boat. But hopefully I'll manage it. *crosses fingers*

-pixie.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: *triumphant music* Yay! I got the chapter up before leaving!

So yeah, this means no more updates for about a week. I'll probably be able to get a chapter up a day or so after I get back, and maybe another the day after. :)

.:':. .:':. .:':.

They endured another silent car trip, Megamind still unconscious, and the two conscious occupants too keyed up to make small talk. One good thing about driving around in the invisible car, Roxanne reflected, was that nobody would see them until just before they entered the hospital.

Minion insisted once more on carrying the incapacitated blue alien. In truth, he felt a sense of responsibility for not having recognised earlier that something was seriously wrong, despite the fact that he'd had no way of knowing that things would get this bad. They made their way to the front desk quickly – luckily, there were few other new patients checking into the hospital. The receptionist, blonde and a little on the plump side, started as she recognised the trio, and her shock made her forget herself. "Oh dear, what's happened? I've heard what's on the new, of course, but they don't know much, anyway, and-" She stopped, realising that now was not the time for chatter. "I'm sorry," she apologised quickly. "That was unprofessional of me. What seems to be the problem?"

Roxanne ran a hand through her hair, clearly on edge. "We don't know. He's been unconscious since the …incident… at the mall, except for about fifteen minutes ago, when he woke up and started vomiting blood."

A small crease of concern formed in between her eyebrows and she pressed the intercom button. "Could I have Dr. Malloy to the front desk, please? Dr. Malloy to the front desk."

Noticing Minion and Roxanne's questioning gazes, she explained, "Dr. Malloy is the chief of staff. We've never had to deal with extraterrestrials here before, which is understandable." She smiled slightly, trying to lighten their mood. "I'm not sure how much help it'll be, but he's the best doctor we have at this facility."

The doctor appeared about five minutes later, carrying a clipboard in the crook of his arm. He had short, spiky black hair that was generously flecked with grey, was a little under average height and a face creased from a lifetime of smiling. He appeared to be somewhere in his late forties. "What's happening, Jenny?" he asked the receptionist. Then, his eyes lighted on Roxanne and Minion, the latter of which was still cradling the inert form of Megamind. "Ah, I see. Why don't we take the elevator to one of the upper floors?" he asked them. "I'm guessing that the less people see him here, the better?"

Roxanne nodded, glad the doctor had caught on so quickly. "Yes, that'd be good, thank you."

Nodding himself, he rubbed his hands together. "Okay, come along this way." He led them towards the elevator and pressed the button for the third floor. Their ride was quiet, much like the trip to the hospital had been.

Once they arrived at the designated floor, he directed them towards an empty room. They drew numerous stares as they made their way through the corridor, and many of the patients that could walked to their doors and watched them go past.

"Okay, so what symptoms has he been showing, and for how long?"

"Um," Roxanne took a second to gather all her thoughts, making sure she didn't forget anything. "It started with tiredness – that was about three weeks ago, wasn't it, Minion?" The fish nodded. "Right. Then, a few days after that, he had an onset of amnesia, which he still hasn't recovered his memories from yet. That's happened twice more since then, but I'm fairly sure that he's got his memories from both those times. He lost different amounts of memories each time," she added. "And each time it took a different trigger to get him to remember. The first one, we still don't know. The second time, I slapped him, which seemed to work." She coloured a little as the doctor grinned at her, nodding thoughtfully. "The third time – that was at the mall earlier this week – he seemed to snap out of it at my voice, but he was unconscious a few seconds later so I can't be sure. Then, just before we took him here, he woke and started vomiting blood for about two minutes before going under again – that was when we decided we really did need to get him to a hospital, even though you might have some difficulty testing an alien." She smiled to show she meant no offence.

"Well, that's certainly a list," he said mildly, and Roxanne's cheeks flushed lightly once more with embarrassment. "No, no, that's good," he assured her. "In these situations, we want as much detail as possible. I'll need to assemble a team so we can get testing underway, and hopefully figure out what's gone wrong with our city's hero. I'll be back in a few minutes," he promised.

Dr. Malloy left the room, then returned soon after, a small team of doctors and nurses trailing in behind him. They proceeded to run several tests on the unconscious blue hero.

There was a brief moment of commotion when Megamind woke while one of the nurses was taking a blood sample. Convinced he had somehow ended up in an alien research facility, he lashed out at the nurses around him, knocking a number of them to the floor with the suddenness of the attack. He glanced around wildly, chest heaving, then paused as he noticed Roxanne and Minion hurrying over from where they had been waiting across the room. Roxanne had been sitting on one of the plastic hospital chairs and Minion had been standing, seeing as he would have crushed the small chair if he had attempted to sit on it. They quickly reassured him that he was in a hospital, and that the staff meant him no harm. He quietened down, still seeming a little suspicious, but apologising to the downed nurses regardless.

Minion and Roxanne exchanged a relieved glance as they helped up the knocked-over nurses. Megamind then insisted he didn't need to be in hospital, while Roxanne insisted that he did. She reminded him that he'd been vomiting up blood. His face blanched. Obviously, he had forgotten that until now. He was swept with a wave of dizziness and fell back, unconscious again before he hit the pillow. The rest of the testing was completed in relative silence.

Dr. Malloy came and went during the entire process, often jotting down notes on his ever-present clipboard, and once everything had been finished, he returned to the room once more to talk to Minion and Roxanne.

"Now, it'll take a few hours for us to get the results, then a few more for us to try to diagnose what's wrong with him. We may not be able to do too much in that aspect; after all, he _is_ an alien, and we're unfamiliar with the way that he functions. But we'll try our best." He smiled at them reassuringly. "That's our job, after all. I'm assuming you'll want to stay with him for the wait?" They both nodded wordlessly. "Yes, I rather thought so," he murmured. "Well then." He shuffled the papers on the clipboard that seemed to be surgically attached to his arm and smiled at them again. "I'll see you all again in a few hours' time, hopefully with good news." So saying, he left the room, his doctor's coat billowing slightly. Minion and Roxanne settled themselves in. it would be a long wait.

.:':. .:':. .:':.

"Well, it was certainly a challenge for us here, though probably not as much as we'd expected." Dr. Malloy told them several hours later, once the results had come in and a diagnosis reached. Megamind had woken sometime earlier, and remained conscious. He was a little weak and had deigned to stay in his bed, but he was more or less back to his old self. "After all, aside from the blue pigmentation of his skin and his enlarged skull, his anatomy is essentially human.

"But his brain… it really is fascinating." He ran a finger down the paper on his clipboard to keep check of where he was. "It's significantly larger in size than a human's, suggesting a far superior brain capacity. What's more, the scans we took indicate that, percentagewise, he uses approximately ten times as much of his brain as a human would at any one time. And that's without even factoring in the size differences. Basically, he's the smartest person on this planet."

Megamind leaned towards Minion. "I like this guy."

Dr. Malloy, overhearing the blue alien's stage whisper, grinned briefly, but quickly became serious again. "Fortunately, the problem doesn't lie in his brain – as far as we can tell, it's perfectly healthy. We've theorised that the amnesia he has been experiencing is merely a symptom.

"If it's I'm not sure we'd be able to successfully operate on his brain without causing damages, due to the fact that we don't really know that much about how it functions compared to a human's, or how it would react to surgery in the first place." He tapped the clipboard absently with his forefinger.

"We are fairly certain we have discerned where the problem lies." Roxanne and the two aliens all unconsciously leaned forward. "It's his lungs."

"My… lungs?" Megamind looked down at his chest, as if he thought that if he looked hard enough, he'd see his lungs, and what was wrong with them.

"Yes, your lungs," Dr. Malloy affirmed. "Why do you seem so puzzled?"

The bed-bound alien shrugged. "I don't know. Just one of the last things I would have expected."

"Well, what was the first thing you'd imagined it would be?" A glint of humour danced in the doctor's eyes.

"I don't know!" he repeated, slightly flustered. "I just never would have guessed that the problem would be my lungs."

"Oh, I'm sure you would've guessed it eventually," Roxanne couldn't resist chiming in. "After all, there are only a limited number of things in the body that can go wrong."

"Quite," Dr. Malloy replied, feeling that they were getting a little off topic. He decided it was time to steer the conversation back to where it was supposed to be. "So, yes, the problem is in his lungs.

"See, as far as we know, Earth has a unique atmospheric composition – that being roughly seventy-eight per cent nitrogen, twenty percent oxygen, one percent argon, and a few other trace gases, including carbon dioxide. Whatever planet Megamind came from had a different composition, which is understandable – most planets have differing compositions anyway. But that's where the problem is." He tapped his clipboard again. "Megamind, the air of this planet is killing you."

"Of course it is," he replied, not understanding. "With all the pollution you humans produce, I'm surprised the life expectancy of your race is anywhere near where it is." He turned to Roxanne with a grin. "I have been trying to come up with something to counteract the way you people are poisoning your planet."

Dr. Malloy shook his head. "That's good, of course, but you misunderstand me. It's true that the harmful airborne substances are having effects on pretty much all life on Earth, but you in particular. Your body was meant to function on the atmospheric composition of your own planet, not this one."

"Wait, you mean… I'm dying?" he asked, the doctor's words finally sinking in. Roxanne and Minion swivelled their heads towards Dr. Malloy in a synchronised movement, eyes probing questioningly.

The doctor nodded glumly. "I'm very sorry, but without knowing the composition of the air of your home planet, there isn't much I can do to help you."

Megamind squared his shoulders. "Have your machines at least told you how long I have left?" He didn't completely succeed in keeping his voice from quavering.

His eyes dropped to the clipboard. He always hated this part of his job. "From our estimates – which may not be entirely correct mind you. You may have more time." _Or less_, he added to himself. "You have about three months."

.:':. .:':. .:':.

A/N: I realise that a lot of the in-hospital stuff might – no, scrap that, I know it does – sound off, but I've never been to hospital before and I've got no idea how things are conducted. Sorry for what are sure to be numerous inconsistencies compared to what would occur at an actual hospital. D: If you have any suggestions for the betterment of that, please share.

Though I do have to admit writing all that medical-techy stuff for Dr. Malloy was _way_ more fun than it should have been. :P

Oh yeah, and Megamind has three months to live. There's that too. *grins*

-pixie.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: *grins sheepishly* Um, hi. Look, I know I haven't updated for a while, and I apologise. Unfortunately, I have bad news.

I'm not discontinuing this story; it's just going on hiatus for a few months. I've started senior schooling (HSC level schooling, whatever you want to call it), so I've had to deal with a workload that I'm not used to. Seriously, I've been back two weeks and I've already had to do 10+ hours of math homework alone, and a really unengaging novel that I've got to read for English. I'm also learning how to drive, so that's eating into the time I would usually spend writing. On top of that, my inspiration has flared over at some of my other stories, and kind of died over here. And, of course, I choose now to really start putting work into a webcomic I've been meaning to get off the ground for over a year. I could come up with a litany of excuses, but I doubt you want to hear them.

In a feeble attempt to make it up to you guys, when I do return to this story, I will bulk post - a new chapter every day until the story is finished. I'm really sorry about this, but there's not much I can do until I get inspired and I have the time, I guess.

-pixie.


	11. My Apologies, Dear Readers

A/N: No, sorry, this isn't an update. I sincerely apologise to all the fans of this story, but I almost definitely will not be continuing this story. I just seem to have lost all sense of inspiration for this fanfic, and I don't think it'll come back after so long. I'll still leave it up, for those who wish to enjoy it. I'm profusely sorry - I had every intention of coming back to it, but... I don't know. I just can't connect with the storyline anymore. Hopefully I'll be struck down by a rabid plot bunny, but that seems unlikely at this point. I apologise again to you all.

-pixie.


End file.
